Extending communication orientations through metaphor-researched dimensions

William Littlewood noted how communicative language teaching is increasingly oriented towards meaningful communication This orientation features 'macro-principles' to promote high learner engagement and motivation for communication. Macro-principles are transferrable for learning but should be contextualised locally. This leads to a framework – Communication-Oriented Language Teaching (COLT) – intended to enhance the content of language learning by emphasizing personalized learning through meaningful materials and task relevance. These macro-principles are enacted through learner collaboration, variety, and challenge. The framework draws on four 'dimensions' of engagement (cognitive, behavioural, emotional, and social) which apply not only to language teaching but to a broader dialogue as a 'cosmopolitan conversation.' This paper sets out to extend the framework by drawing on analyses of extensive data-sets of metaphors about language teaching and learning from students and teachers in China, Malaysia, and Iran. We propose adding 'socio-cultural,' 'moral-spiritual', and 'aesthetic' as 'macro-functions' of language, relatable to macro-principles for classroom teaching. This new bottom-up picture largely confirms top-down proposals made by recognized experts. However, we argue that our system of macro-functions adds a more holistic, bottom-up orientation, derived from participant data with a claim to be learner-centred and teacher-confirmed. We discuss implications for applying this extended framework through engagement with Sustainable Development Goals.